I. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to collating machines of the type which are operable as insertion machines, and to a method for operating such machines.
II. Prior Art and other Considerations
For several decades now collating machines have been utilized by commercial establishments for the preparation of printed matter for postal purposes. An early collating machine operated as an insertion machine is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,325,455 to A. H. Williams which is incorporated herein by reference.
In conventional collating machines, an insert track is indexed past a series of processing stations in timed relation to a machine cycle. In most such machines the first such processing station positioned along the insert track is generally a first or control insert station which comprises feeder means for feeding documents onto the insert track. The insert track is indexed past further stations at a rate approximating one station per machine cycle.
The document(s) deposited on the insert track from the first insert station is associated with a particular customer and typically bears a control indicia, such as a bar code printed thereon which, when read, indicates with reference to the particular customer which further insert stations are to be actuated to feed one or more documents. As a particular customer's indicia-bearing document is indexed along the insert track, each insert station has an opportunity to feed (subject to operator control input and in accordance with the read control indicia) whatever document(s) stored thereat are applicable to the particular customer.
After all applicable inserts for a particular customer have been associated together as a group on the insert track, the associated documents are placed in an appropriate package at a packaging station. For collating machines which serve as insertion machines the packaging station is an inserting or stuffing station whereat the associated documents are stuffed into an awaiting envelope. Further operations such as envelope sealing, envelope diverting, and/or zip code grouping occur yet downstream in accordance with some embodiments of insertion machines. In some collating machines a wrapper or the like is formed about or envelopes the associated documents at the packaging station.
The actual throughput of an inserting machine, defined as the number of stuffed envelopes delivered from the machine per hour, depends largely on two factors: (1) the cycling speed of the machine; and, (2) the time lost due to the machine stoppages caused by jams and other errors.
The first factor is under the direct control of the operator. But the second factor depends on several aspects such as material characteristics, operator skill level, machine adjustments, and the like. For example, some insert documents may be of a particular stock that is not easily feedable from an insert feeder station.
The second factor of lost time also tends to increase with increasing cycling speed. For a given job-machine-operator-environment combination, as the cycling speed is increased from a low value, the throughput will increase as long as the effect of the time lost due to errors is more than compensated by the increase in cycling speed. But at some point the effect of the increasing time lost due to errors becomes overwhelming. Beyond this point the throughput begins to decrease with further increases in cycling speed.
Traditionally, the experienced operator develops a "feel" for this optimum cycling speed, which guides him to set the appropriate speed. More sophisticated prior art insertion machines have provided statistical indications of a variety of insertion machine monitored operations, including such counts as the average number of documents being fed from a control station; the number of envelopes completed per calendar hour; the number of envelopes completed per actual run hour; the number and type of machine stops; the actual machine run and idle times; and, the average machine cycle speed per hour.
These statistics provided by the more sophisticated machines, particularly the average machine cycle speed and the average number of documents per customer being fed from a control station, help an operator to fine tune his "feel" for an optimum cycling speed as set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,734,865 entitled "Insertion Machine with Audit Trail and Command Protocol", which is incorporated herein by reference. Nevertheless, even with such statistics this optimum speed decision is difficult to make, at best, for an operator.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus and method to positively guide the operator cf an insertion machine regarding the optimum cycling speed of the machine.
An advantage of the present invention is the provision of apparatus and method whereby the aggregate effect of a plurality of dynamic conditions, including cycling speed, material characteristics, machine adjustments, operator skill level, environmental conditions, are considered in providing an indication of optimum cycling speed for an insertion machine.
A further advantage of the present invention is the provision of apparatus and method for automatically setting machine cycling speed for maximum throughput under current dynamic conditions.